Thursday, February 6, 2014

Picnics at the #Eiffel #Tower #Paris, #France

A picnic at the Eiffel Tower... doesn't that sound romantic? Something on your bucket list?

This is something our family does every July when we fly from Calgary to Paris. Our flight arrives in the morning and we stagger off the plane jetlagged. All three of us travel with carry on luggage, so we do not have to deal with lost luggage or waiting for the bags to arrive. We take the train from the airport into Paris, find our hotel room, checked in, change and wash up and head out again. Trying to adjust to a new time zone is a challenge but we find it easier if you can get some exercise, fresh air and sunlight.

We head down to the Notre Dame as a reminder to ourselves that we "really are in Paris!!" We stop in at a boulangerie for a baguette (or 2) and into a pâtisserie for some amazing desserts. Off we head to the fromagerie for at least 3 different types of cheese. We stop into a petite épicerie for wine, tomatoes and chocolate. Then off we head to the metro.

We bring an old bedsheet from Canada for our French picnics. We join families, locals, and tourists on the grounds of the Jardin du Champ de Mars. If you didn't buy wine before you came to the jardin, don't worry. There are "vendors" walking around with bottles of wine to sell to you. There are other people trying to sell you the latest plastic toy from China as well.Just after sunset the Eiffel Tower sparkles like a Christmas tree. Every hour on the hour until midlights, the twinkling occurs. There are always "oohhs" and "aahhs" from the spectators. It doesn't matter how many times I see this light show, it still is a beautiful sight.Bring a sweater or hoodie with you because it does cool off at sunset. Happy travels!